Category Archives: hospital stay

May 22 2008
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Amazing God, bills, hospital stay, twins

Mountains

Sometimes I get caught up in the things going on around me that seem like the biggest mountains I have ever imagined. I feel like I can’t do anything else and have to physically throw my hands in the air and say, “God, I can’t do this anymore, I need you to show me that you are still there.” And sometimes, I don’t hear an answer right away, mostly because I am too upset to hear it or I don’t want to hear what He has to say. But when I am still and allow God to move in HIS timing, not mine, though sometimes, I feel like His timing is way too slow, I know it is always perfect.

Lately I have felt this way. Just totally overwhelmed with things going on in my life. And today, God finally showed me that yes, He is still up there, Bigger than little ole me and as always, it was HIS perfect timing!


Thank you Lord for wiping out my hospital bill! This is for my hospital stay, DELIVERY!!!, and everything dealing with me at ST. Lukes. It took 1 year for your answer to our prayers, but I know that your way is always perfect! Thank you for reassurance andrejuvenation. For peace and for the boost that I needed, right when I needed it. Thank you for putting people in my path to help me find ways to get this paid for. Thank you for putting me in the place that I needed to be to receive the best care for my babies. For the doctors and nurses who took care of me, Preslyn and Ella….words cannot express how thankful I am to you all. Though my babies are worth more than any figure in the world, it is such a relief to know that I won’t be paying for them for the rest of my life 🙂

Thank you for everyone who has been believe for us for our bills to be paid. You are all so faithful and I KNOW your prayers have helped this to come to pass for us. We love you all and are so thankful for friends and family who believe the impossible with us!

Nov 09 2007
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Ella and Preslyn's birth, hospital stay, NICU

A formal announcement…info and updates

A formal announcement…info and updates 🙂

Dear Friends and Family,

We wanted to make a formal announcement that our two newest daughters have arrived!!!

Ella Marie and Preslyn Kylar arrived at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in the downtown medical center on November 7 at 5:09 a.m. Ella weighed 3lbs. 12 oz. and was 17 ½ inches long and Preslyn followed her into the world at 3lbs. 7 oz. and 16 ½ inches long.

They are now at Texas Children’s Hospital right next door in the NICU. Since they were 31 week babies, they are in the level 3 of the NICU which is the most intensive care of the NICU. They are both dealing with the same issues, one being respiratory due to their immature lungs. They are both intubated and on ventilators that are allowing them to breathe on their own and assist them about 38%. This is down from where they were at 50%, so they are slowly coming off of the oxygen and may be able to be totally off in a few days if they continue. They are both slightly jaundiced which is also totally normal, so they are wearing their cute little eye masks while they are under the lights. This should start to level out in a few days as well, and when they start them on feeds that should help start to flush out those toxins as well. They may be starting feeds tomorrow or the day after if all continues well.

The hardest part has been not to be able to hold them. They both have belly lines in their umbilical cords which allow them to not have to be stuck continuously for blood work, etc. but when they are in we can’t hold them. The good thing is they only leave those in for 7-10 days, and after that we can hold them!!! Oh how that will be such a great day! It is still up in the air when they will be home…probably at a minimum in 4-5 weeks, but it could be sooner, it could be later, we just have to go day by day, because things change on a daily, hourly basis.

BJ has been by my side helping me to recover. It’s been nice to get to spend time together just the two of us, even though mostly we’ve been just so exhausted we can hardly keep our eyes open, it’s been refreshing. Since I’ve been here at the hospital for 45 days, we are enjoying the time together. I am scheduled to go home TOMORROW which is an unbelievable thought. We are praying the girls will have a speedy discharge, so we don’t have to drive back and forth every day, but it will probably be a few weeks until that happens.

Hayden has been a trooper. She was able to see the babies shortly after they arrived, but didn’t seem too interested. She was more concerned with where was mommy J She is doing really well though and I am anxious to get back home and be a part of her life again.

My recovery is going well. The day of the surgery was pretty rough, obviously, but I have slowly been gaining back my mobility and am feeling better with each day.

The girls were scheduled to be delivered today, but during my monitoring on Tuesday they were very unreactive in their heart rates. They were having no heart accelerations and they were not moving inside me. So we watched and did an ultrasound, but it was inconclusive. They said there were many factors that could be causing them not to be reactive, but most of those could only be determined upon delivery, so instead of being sorry, the doctors decided to do an emergency c-section. So I called BJ at 3 am and two hours later we welcomed our precious girls into the world. We didn’t have much time to alert many people, so we are trying to backtrack and make sure everyone has been informed.

We really appreciate all of your support and prayers through this pregnancy. So far our girls are doing great; they just need time to mature. Thank you for those who have visited and sent flowers and messages. They are beautiful!

For those who are going to want to see the babies when the do arrive home, please get your flu shot!!! Right now is one of the most dangerous times to have a baby, since it is RSV season, and we will have to be extremely careful so that they do not get it. RSV can be life-threatening to a baby, even more so a preemie. Most likely we will not be able to take them out of the house for a while, so we ask that you get your flu shot so you can come see them at the house.

As always, we will keep our family blog updated with pictures and news so please check it out!! http://www.munsons.blogspot.com

Much love,

BJ, Lindsay, Hayden, Ella and Preslyn

Nov 06 2007
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hospital stay, twin update 31 weeks

Some action at the hospital

So I’ve been having contractions since 5 today maybe earlier but I was sleeping and woke up in discomfort. They were really mild and then around 7 picked up and became regular. I had 27 contractions in one hour and they say to be alerted when you have any more than 6 in an hour. So yeah…definitely met the quota. So the resident came in and checked me and I have dialated to a 1 and am 50% effaced. They are going to come check me again at 11:30 or 12 and if I have made any progress they are going to deliver me tonight. So be in prayer. I’m obviously a little nervous but know that God already knows when the perfect time is. So I am just trying to stay relaxed and calm.

I’m kind of doubting I will make any progress that quickly, but you never know what your body will do so we shall see. I’ll post tomorrow or a quick one before I deliver tonight should that be the case. Otherwords, we are still pushing for Friday!

UPDATE: 12:30am no change…so I’m going to bed and staying pregnant for a little while longer 🙂

Nov 05 2007
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hospital stay, twin update 31 weeks

An aqua box for me 🙂

Last night BJ got to come up to the hospital by himself, which is not an insult to my child whatsoever. I love that little chickadee to death, but last night was nice because when she comes we don’t really get to have a focused conversation. Usually it is just wrangling her and keeping her entertained and BJ and I get to glance at each other here and there.

So he came and brought dinner and we watched a movie, talked about our ever changing life and just hung out, like we would if we were at home. It was very nice and probably the last time we will get that opportunity for a little while, since we are soon going from 3 to 5!

He brought with him a special little box, that at the sight of it, every girl would let out a gasp 🙂 It was an aqua box from none other than Tiffany’s 🙂 🙂

I was so surprised and excited to see what was inside. He had given me a delicate silver bracelet with 5 pearls on it, to represent our family.
It was so perfect and I L-O-V-E it!

Anyway, that is how I spent my last weekend before my babies! I am so excited that THIS IS THE WEEK! All of my nurses have been on the countdown with me for weeks and now my whiteboard says 4 more days!!! I am getting my second round of steroids today and tomorrow and usually I would be really nervous, but I am excited because this is a milestone and I know it will help my little tots breathe on their own and if they can do that, they can come home so much sooner!! So pray for unassisted breathing when they are born!!

My monitoring has been going great, no decels and minimal contractions.

This is what it looks like to be monitored….its quite and ordeal and I have so many bands strapped to me. I will be glad to see those go away, to never again return 🙂 Don’t mind my horrendous appearance. I’m so pale from being inside for 6 weeks, plus having anemia on top of that. I told my mom I was going to have to wear my makeup for my delivery just so they don’t send me to the morgue afterwards on accident 🙂

I can’t walk around very much anymore because when I do I have lots of contractions, so I’ve been chilling in my bed primarily. I feel like an old pro at this inpatient gig 🙂 The other day one of my nurses that had quit her job about a week ago, came to see me and brought her kids to meet me! I thought it was kind of humorous that a nurse would come to visit a patient. She said she had asked the other ladies who was still here from when she was and I was the only one. I’m the veteran now!

When I got here a lady met me in the hall that had been here 2 months, and now I am that lady. My neighbor has only been here for a few days and is having a rough time. She is on continuous monitoring and her babies are only 23 weeks, which means they are tiny and can move like crazy which makes monitoring so incredibly hard. I felt for her. The nurses said she is having a rough time emotionally and we’ve been encouraging her that the first couple of weeks are the hardest, until you really come to terms with being here, and the reason you are here. And then it starts getting easier. I can’t believe I have been here for 41 days. It seems like just yesterday I was calling home, crying my eyes out to BJ telling him I couldn’t do it, and that I hated this. And now here I am with 4 days to go feeling so excited and relieved to know that I have finished my task. I have met my goal and given my babies the greatest chance that I could. And I couldn’t have done it without the constant support of all of you out there, sending me messages, emails, IM’ing me, visiting me and just constantly lifting us up in prayer.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
♥ Lindsay

Nov 04 2007
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hospital stay, twin update 31 weeks

I’ve been bumped

Ok, so I have been informed that actually my delivery will be at 9:30am on Friday. My
Dr. is doing three sections that day and I’m the third, so at least he’ll be practiced up by the time he gets to me.

I’ve been having lots of cramping and contractions so basically other than going to the bathroom I’ve been in my bed for the last 3 days. I’m so excited that this is our last week and then my new babies will be here! It still feels surreal and I feel like I can’t wrap my brain around it really.

Nov 01 2007
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hospital stay, twin update 31 weeks

31 weeks…

we are almost there!!!!

Day 37

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She’s probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby’s kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

So I finally hit my 20lb. weight gain mark. Which is exactly half of what I gained with Hayden. These kiddos have just sucked every ounce of food that I have ingested. Hopefully it will make it easier for me to lose it afterwards. I’ve been having some pretty heavy duty waves of nausea lately. That on top of constant motion on the inside makes it pretty rough. So I’ve been trying to sleep when I can so I don’t notice it as much. Yesterday I went on a tour of the NICU and got to see some of the babies up close. It was amazing to see how small a 3lb. baby is (which is what they are suspecting ours will probably be around). Her little legs were probably the width of BJ’s finger! I was astounded! It’s going to be so wierd to see them that little when we are used to our chunky monkey 🙂 Anyway, the NICU was great. The nurses are fabulous and I know they will take excellent care of my two newbies.

I can’t believe we are less than a week away from the start of the delivery. BJ booked a hotel for him and his parents close by so Hayden will have a place to rest during the day and so he can get good rest and not be exhausted once I go home. Then they will all head down here about this time next week and it will all begin. They said they will probably start my IV the night before and then no food or drink after 12. Crazy that we are really here finally.

Tonight is my Grey’s party night with my gals 🙂 Only one more after this here at the hospital then we will have to relocate somewhere more NORTH!!! whoohoo!! I am so pumped about going home. Today I saw a commercial for the Hallmark free Christmas gift with purchase and it was the wierdest feeling because it does not feel like we are approaching the holidays whatsoever to me. I came in here right after labor day and now it is almost Thanksgiving???? It is a strange feeling.

Well…tootle-oo!

Oct 31 2007
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hospital stay

Some answers to your questions:

Day 35

Delivery is set for Friday, Nov. 9 for sure in the morning, most likely around 8. We ask that if you are sick or have been recently or feel like you might be getting sick that you don’t come. We are really sorry to have to do that, but it is for the safety of our babies. Having preemies is a whole new ball game and we cannot get sick because then we cannot see them and they will not let you near them if you are sick.

We have no clue how long the babies will be in the hospital. They have to go to the NICU since they will be under 36 weeks. After that its totally up in the air, just based on them growing, eating, maintaining body temp, etc. The sucking reflex usually doesn’t mature until 34 weeks so I’m assuming they will be there at a minimum of 2 weeks. They say to estimate them being there until their actual due date, which would be January 3. So basically anything before then will be excellent. Basically we will have no clue until they are born and the neonatologists can assess them.

I will be discharged on Monday as long as all is well with me. Praying my diabetes and elevated heartrate (tachychardia) go away upon delivery. We are not sure as of yet where I will be once I am discharged. They have housing available to parents in situations like ours and since we live so far away from the hospital we may qualify to stay there. So more on that as the time arises.

Oct 28 2007
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hospital stay, twin update 30 weeks

NEW DUE DATE!!!

Just got word that we have a new C-section date!! It will either be on Nov. 9 or 10, the dr. is confirming when the NICU will be the most staffed and that will be the date! The specialist and all my Dr’s are comfortable with this date and the babies are doing so good!!

Only 11 more days!!!! I am thrilled!!!!

Oct 25 2007
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bump watch '07, Hayden 24 months, hospital stay

Belly Pic

Me and the twirls at 30 weeks!!!!!

Your baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

Here’s a new pic of my daughter who is no longer a baby whatsoever.

Oct 25 2007
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hospital stay, twin update 30 weeks

30 weeks 30 weeks!!!!!!!

We made it! I am so thankful to be making it to this milestone. Today my doctor came in and said they wanted to have the neonatologist come in and talk with me again to give me a brighter picture to dwell on now that we have made it to another safe zone. Yes, the babies will still be tiny but they will have a much greater chance of having less problems now and every day after today just gets better and better! That rocks my world!!

I am back on 6 hour monitoring, which is fine because I still get a good chunk of sleep at night but those couple of 8 hour ones sure were nice. Apparently there was a miscommunication between my attending physician and the resident last night. The resident was the one that ordered the decrease in monitoring and the physician never approved it. So there is no reason that they want me back on 6 hours its just really there is no point in going longer when we are getting closer and closer to the end. They would rather look at the babies more frequently instead of less. So that is fine with me!

I’ll try to post a belly pic in a while once I get a shower. I have been sleeping most of the day and definitely look like it 🙂 You will probably be shocked to see how huge I have gotten!

I’m so excited that we are in the teens now on days to go!! Whooohoo!!!

New personal goal:31 weeks!

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